Offseason Roundup: Colorado Avalanche
Over the next month, theScore's NHL editors will review all the offseason moves for each team around the league.
A young team that wasn't expected to go very far took their first-round playoff series to overtime of Game 7. Unfortunately, they couldn't get past the Minnesota Wild, and the Colorado Avalanche will have some questions to answer this season.
It was a tough summer for general manager Joe Sakic as he watched Paul Stastny leave for St. Louis and traded away P.A. Parenteau to the Montreal Canadiens for Daniel Briere.
The Avalanche also picked up veteran center Jarome Iginla, who believes he has quite a bit of hockey left in him and sees a bright future in Colorado.
Head coach Patrick Roy has already made it clear he'll run the team the same way he did last year, carrying an extra defenseman and 13 forwards. He may have to switch that up during the season if Stastny proves as difficult to replace as many believe he'll be.
Offseason Roundup
With a heartbreaker of a playoff exit behind them, Avalanche management shifted their focus to the draft and free agency.
The first shoe to drop was Stastny, who opted to forgo an extension and return home to St. Louis by joining the Blues. Stastny has scored at least 50 points in every full NHL season since he began his career with the Avalanche in 2006. That will be a large void to fill.
Center Ryan O'Reilly also had his share of problems negotiating a new contract, as the team elected arbitration against him before finally settling on a two-year, $12-million deal. In the same boat was young defenseman Tyson Barrie, who eventually signed a two-year, $5.2-million contract.
The Avalanche signed defensive prospect Maxim Noreau to a two-year, $1.25- million contract and inked Jarome Iginla to a three-year, $16-million contract to help fill the void left by Stastny. Daniel Briere has one year and $4 million remaining on his contract from the Canadiens.
Defenseman Nick Holden was given a 3-year, $4.5-million contract extension. The team also extended Jamie McGinn on a two-year deal, picked up forward Jesse Winchester (two years, $1.8-million), and acquired defenseman Brad Stuart from the San Jose Sharks.
The Avalanche also drafted well, selecting center Conner Bleackley with their first-round pick (23rd overall).
Key Additions
Jarome Iginla
Brad Stuart
Daniel Briere
Key Departures
Paul Stastny
P.A. Parenteau
2014-15 Outlook
The Avalanche's success last season was a surprise to many, and it'll be interesting to see if they can build on that success after losing one of their top players in Stastny. The departure of Parenteau will also shake up the lines that worked so well for Colorado last season.
Adding older players to the mix could throw off the speed and chemistry that guided the team's playoff push. More responsibility will be placed on sophomore Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog to lead the team back to the postseason.